Main Gauche & Dual Wield


Rules Questions and Gameplay Discussion


So, totally broken, or not playing it right? I know you can only play one weapon per check, but the wording seems to imply you can dual wield this. I have a swashbuckler dual wielding this and a cat o' nine-tails and he rolls a 10 even if he rolls 1's on all his dice.

I'm pretty sure this is wrong, but he insists he "knows how these things work."


Not playing right. See here.


There is nothing on the card that allows you to play it with another weapon. The "off hand" trait does nothing unless you have a character power the specifically takes advantage of it. Or, to repat the game mantra, Cards do what they say they do. Card's don't do things they don't say they do.

That being said, it really isn't the Main Gauche that is turning your swashbuckler into a death machine. It's the fact that the Cat-O'-Nine-Tails is ridiculous (its as good as a +2 longsword for RotR, and that was an AP 3 weapon) and Jirelle is a death machine.

Lantern Lodge

So the basic uses for the Main-Gauche (as it currently stands) are:

1. I'm gonna get stabbity with this (because reasons) for some pretty minor damage.
2. I didn't get as stabbity with my big bad one-handed weapon, I've got no armor in my hand, and I'm going to use the Main-Gauche to keep from taking some damage.

Did I miss anything?


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#2 isn't possible. If you played a weapon for your combat check, you can't play Main_Gauche to reduce the damage (1 card of each type prohibits that).

Also, you take damage for reasons other than failing a combat check. So it could be:

3. Someone else didn't get as stabbity against a giant, I've got no armor in my hand, I'm going to use Main-Gauche to keep from taking some damage, I'm going to use Main-Gauche to keep from taking some damage.
4. I'm dealt combat damage before I act, I've got no armor in my hand,

Or other various situations where you take combat damage outside of the check to defeat a monster.

You might look at it as "I'm being dealt damage enough that I might want to consider carrying some armor. But I don't like armor. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some armor I could do a combat check with? Oh, look Main-Gauche is basically that, just called a weapon. I'll carry it in case I have to take some damage, and if worse comes to worse I can make a check with it too."

Lantern Lodge

Ah. Thanks Hawkmoon!

I guess I was considering the resolution of damage from a combat check as a different step because you could play another card (armor) to address it.

But in your #4 example, if you use the Main-Gauche to avoid damage before you act, you wouldn't be able to use a card of the same type in the following combat either would you? Isn't it considered a "card of the same type"?


You would. The rule is 1 card of each type per step of the encounter. So you can play a weapon, armor, blessing, item, ally, and spell "before you act" and then play 1 of each again while "attempting the check."

S&S Rulebook p10 wrote:
Encountering a Card Each player may play no more than 1card of each type during each step.
Encountering a Card wrote:

Apply any evasion effects.

Apply any effects that happen before you act.
Attempt the check.
Attempt the next check, if needed.
Apply any effects that happen after you act.
Resolve the encounter.

Lantern Lodge

I think the one thing we haven't clarified is when damage from failing a check is applied. I was assuming it was in one of the last two steps, but according to the S&S rulebook page 13:

"If you fail a check to defeat a monster, it deals an amount of damage to you equal to the difference between the difficulty to defeat the monster and your check result."

And it's part of the "Attempt the check/checks" step(s). Since it all the hack & slash happens in one step you cannot change from your one-handed weapon to the Main-Gauche.

Sorry if this seems pedantic, but talking it out this way helps me understand it better.


Right, so each of these is a step of the encounter:

Encountering a Card wrote:

Apply any evasion effects.

Apply any effects that happen before you act.
Attempt the check.
Attempt the next check, if needed.
Apply any effects that happen after you act.
Resolve the encounter.

You repeat the "Attempt the next check, if needed" step as many times as necessary to resolved all the checks. i.e. if you are encountering a monster with 2 checks to defeat it would be:

Attempt the check: Combat 12 check to defeat.
Attempt the next check: Check to recharge spell.
Attempt the next check: Combat 14 check to defeat.
Attempt the next check: Check to recharge spell.

And each player can play 1 card of each type in each of those steps. You can only play cards that relate to the steps, and you can't play cards between the steps. (Those last two things are what really make an encounter a unique situation. During other parts of the turn, you can generally play cards that don't relate to the step of the turn and you can play cards between the steps of the turn. That is why they are called out in the encounter sequence.)

Thus, you can't play a Cure during "before you act" or between "before you act" and "attempt the check". But you can play a spell that applies to whatever is happening "before you act" and play a spell that applies to whatever is happening while you "attempt the check".


Does this mean Main Gauche's 'parry' ability

CANNOT be used when taking damage if you already used a weapon (regardless if 2-handed or not)

CAN only be used for before-encounter combat damage

I'm not sure I understood it right so can someone please confirm?

If I was right in my understanding, that means Main Gauche's

Main Gauche wrote:
If you played a weapon that has the 2-handed trait on this check, you may not play this card

is pretty much irrelevant?

What was the intention of putting this paragraph? Future dual wielder? Future-proofing?

What are the instances when you could actually PLAY the Main Gauche after another weapon?


You understand correctly. See this comment from Mike.


Main-Gauche has been updated in both S&S and the Class Decks. You can now play it to reduce damage, even when you have played another weapon on the check, as long as that other weapon did not have the 2-Handed trait.

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